Police chiefs on tour of Suffolk

Two of Suffolk’s police chiefs were out and about in Bury St Edmunds this week, speaking with the public about policing issues affecting their lives.

Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore and Chief Constable Douglas Paxton set up base at a mobile police station at the Arc on Wednesday.

Tim said it was vitally important to meet with members of the public face-to-face.

He said: “Meeting with the public like this is invaluable to me.

“Generally speaking, people are very positive about policing in the Bury area. They feel safe and that’s a credit to what the constabulary are doing.

“But issues have been raised with domestic abuse, speeding, burglaries and the visibility of officers on the street - people would like to see them walking down the street rather than in a car.

“With domestic abuse we need to say to people if you are suffering from domestic abuse you must report it. If people don’t report it we cannot deal with it.

“Some people may think there’s no point and that nothing can be done about it.

“But we are putting in more resources, we are expanding our domestic violence advisory service and more money will go to look after victims.

“We are taking this issue very seriously.”

Tim said research being undertaken at University Campus Suffolk was crucial to tackling the issue in the future. “Initial anecdotal evidence is the problem is more widespread than imagined.

“Research suggests that women on average have 35 incidents of domestic abuse against them before they report it. That is a terrifying statistic. But we need to look at the problem before we can work out how to deal with it.”

Chief Constable Paxton said: “The big message is that Suffolk Constabulary is here to deal with the things that matter to the local communities in the county. It is not always going to be the Chief Constable out and about speaking to people but we are here to listen to local concerns.”